:00:43. > :00:49.Good morning and welcome to the Sunday politics. The Prime Minister
:00:49. > :00:56.has returned to fight back after the disappointment at the Eastleigh
:00:56. > :01:01.by-election. How is it going down with his fellow ministers? We will
:01:01. > :01:10.ask business secretary Vince Cable whether the government can carry on
:01:10. > :01:16.cutting and stimulate growth. He is our Sunday interview.
:01:16. > :01:19.This is deep Celtic diet. And are the plans of Michael Gove
:01:19. > :01:26.for teaching history a horror bought bought just what the doctor
:01:26. > :01:29.ordered it? We will have a debate on the plans.
:01:29. > :01:31.And coming up on Sunday Politics Scotland: we will be asking, has
:01:31. > :01:41.the Scottish Catholic Church lost its moral authority after the
:01:41. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :01:49.events of the past week involving All that and a political Dannatt
:01:49. > :01:59.offering more fun and excitement then you will find this side of a
:01:59. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :34:49.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1969 seconds
:34:49. > :34:53.post by-election pub crawl around The new curriculum assessed that
:34:53. > :34:59.children at I have to learn the unique evil of the Holocaust. There
:34:59. > :35:09.are several problems with that. First it is a moral lot ahistorical
:35:09. > :35:15.approach. Secondly the uniqueness The that is exactly what is going
:35:15. > :35:23.on now. I have never heard 88 about the Holocaust in a school. It is
:35:23. > :35:27.taught as a moral issue. We are green on this.
:35:27. > :35:31.How can you understand a Holocaust without understanding something
:35:31. > :35:36.about anti-Semitism or understanding Germany? Germany does
:35:36. > :35:43.not appear in this curriculum at all.
:35:43. > :35:52.I'll take you at your word. You say you dislike myths and hero worship.
:35:52. > :35:59.Why is Mary C Cole there? Have you looked at the text on her. She is
:35:59. > :36:04.designs to be the antecedent. Did you hear about by an hour but going
:36:04. > :36:10.on about blond-haired blue-eyed nurses in the NHS. We want good
:36:10. > :36:19.Jamaican nurses. She is being invented as the heroine and patron
:36:19. > :36:25.of those nurses. This is dominated by current political concerns.
:36:25. > :36:28.There I am in agreement with you. People need to be taught to look at
:36:28. > :36:33.someone like her and asked some difficult and awkward questions.
:36:33. > :36:39.The new curriculum does not combine historical skills on one hand with
:36:39. > :36:45.the fact. It just has the facts. So are we now agreeing that the
:36:45. > :36:48.current curriculum has fundamental problems. They give need. I have
:36:48. > :36:53.never seen any evidence in the teaching materials then there is
:36:53. > :36:59.any debate on this at all. A you get the final word as he gets
:36:59. > :37:03.it a lot. The current curriculum does the
:37:03. > :37:11.narrative of the British history from the age of 11 to the age of 14.
:37:11. > :37:15.There is another bunch of problems about post 14 education. The
:37:15. > :37:22.curriculum is centred on a narrative of British history with
:37:22. > :37:29.some wild and the European history. The current one is missing that. --
:37:29. > :37:33.song world and European history. A one final point. It really is
:37:33. > :37:40.wrong. The campaign for the retention of Mary C Cole in the
:37:40. > :37:43.current curriculum was headed by a list of signatories. It is
:37:43. > :37:47.politically and left wing at skewed. It is a product of the last
:37:47. > :37:52.government and needs demolishing now.
:37:52. > :37:59.We will see how many of our viewers have never heard of her as well.
:37:59. > :38:06.You both get 100 lines for overrunning. It is approaching
:38:06. > :38:09.11:40am. You are watching Sunday Good morning and welcome to Sunday
:38:09. > :38:11.Politics Scotland. Coming up: One of the priests who
:38:11. > :38:15.complained about Cardinal O'Brien's behaviour claims he feared the
:38:15. > :38:18.Vatican would crush him if they could. A church crisis of historic
:38:18. > :38:21.proportions which shows no sign of abating. Brace yourself.
:38:21. > :38:29.The under occupancy benefit cut will start next month. Is everyone
:38:29. > :38:36.ready for the introduction of this welfare reform? Canny Scottish
:38:36. > :38:40.government help those affected? -- can be Scottish Government.
:38:40. > :38:46.And what does a no vote in 2014 mean? What are you being offered at
:38:46. > :38:48.the moment? What would a Scotland that stays within the UK look like?
:38:49. > :38:51.Speaking truth to power. A key figure behind the allegations
:38:51. > :38:57.against Cardinal Keith O'Brien says he may need counselling after a
:38:57. > :39:01.traumatic week. The former priest says he fears the Vatican would
:39:01. > :39:11.crush him if they could. He and three other men complained about
:39:11. > :39:15.inappropriate behaviour. Keith O'Brien contests the allegations.
:39:15. > :39:20.The fall-out from last weekend's allegations surrounding Cardinal
:39:20. > :39:24.Keith O'Brien show little sign of dying down. The story once again
:39:24. > :39:30.dominates this morning's paper. The Observer, which broke the story
:39:30. > :39:37.last week, gives more details about why the former priest made the
:39:37. > :39:41.allegations of public. He says he was a seminarian when the priest
:39:41. > :39:47.acted inappropriately towards him. He and three others reported the
:39:47. > :39:52.incidents dating back to the 1980s to the Vatican in February. The
:39:52. > :39:56.priest told the newspaper that since going public he has
:39:56. > :40:01.experienced the cold disapproval of the Church hierarchy for breaking
:40:01. > :40:06.ranks. He describes the trauma of speaking true to power. He said he
:40:07. > :40:16.thought it best that churchgoers knew what had been going on. He
:40:17. > :40:20.
:40:20. > :40:24.According to the paper, the former cleric said he feared the matter
:40:24. > :40:29.might be swept under the carpet. He added that when they came forward
:40:29. > :40:34.they will warns that were the allegations known they could cause
:40:34. > :40:38.immense damage to the church. Cardinal Keith O'Brien says the
:40:38. > :40:44.contests all allegations made against him and is seeking legal
:40:44. > :40:49.advice. Despite that he resigned as Archbishop on Monday last week. He
:40:49. > :40:54.was the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in Britain. He was due to
:40:54. > :40:59.retire later this month when he turned 75. He will not take part in
:40:59. > :41:03.the conclave to elect the new Pope. The Vatican is investigating the
:41:03. > :41:06.allegations against him. There has been no response from the
:41:06. > :41:09.Scottish Catholic Church this morning. For more analysis, we can
:41:09. > :41:12.now talk to the journalist Catherine Deveney, who broke the
:41:12. > :41:15.story in the Observer last week. She is in our Inverness studio. And
:41:15. > :41:25.here with me, the leading Scottish historian from Edinburgh University,
:41:25. > :41:28.
:41:28. > :41:33.Bersted Catherine, this man sounds like he has been under immense
:41:33. > :41:38.pressure. -- first to Catherine. I think he has been from the media
:41:38. > :41:43.and people who want to out him. There is a real danger when we call
:41:43. > :41:49.for people to be named but we assume that people who have
:41:49. > :41:54.experienced dramatic at bents are somehow public property. --
:41:54. > :42:00.traumatic events. It is worth noting that these people are not
:42:00. > :42:04.anonymous. They have given a signed and sworn statements to the Vatican,
:42:04. > :42:08.exactly as they were asked to do by the church. It was only the
:42:08. > :42:12.reaction of the Church to those complaints that made them fear they
:42:12. > :42:18.would not be dealt with properly and it was at that point that they
:42:18. > :42:24.went public. They are telling a story that is in the public
:42:24. > :42:26.interest. That does not mean to say they lose all their rights as
:42:26. > :42:30.individuals. Tom, initially you were calling for
:42:30. > :42:36.the men to come forward and make themselves known. Hearing what we
:42:36. > :42:42.have heard there, is it best that they stick in the sidelines?
:42:42. > :42:50.The thing has moved on rapidly now. My initial reaction was based on
:42:50. > :42:55.the day the news came out. I can quite understand the point that
:42:55. > :43:00.Catherine has made. I think that is water under the bridge now. The
:43:00. > :43:07.process in Rome, which seems to have been activated very speedily
:43:07. > :43:11.indeed, ought to be allowed to take its course. My concern, obviously,
:43:11. > :43:15.is deep concern for they individuals involved and that
:43:15. > :43:21.includes the cardinal. That is the issue of natural justice and that
:43:21. > :43:26.these allegations were anonymous. These are issues in the past. We
:43:26. > :43:30.need to move forward. There is a conclave about to start so these
:43:30. > :43:35.things will not happen quickly. Eventually an appropriate judgment
:43:35. > :43:40.must come from the Vatican. You are right to point out that the
:43:40. > :43:46.Cardinal does contest these allegations. Catherine, how do you
:43:46. > :43:51.think the Scottish Catholic Church has handled the allegations?
:43:51. > :43:54.I have been very disappointed by the way they have handled the
:43:54. > :43:59.allegations. They say they do not know the specifics of the
:43:59. > :44:03.allegations and that is simply not true. I was asked to the day before
:44:04. > :44:10.the story broke in the Observer to put the allegations in writing to
:44:10. > :44:14.the Catholic Church. I did so. They had many specific allegations from
:44:14. > :44:21.the four individuals concerned but, more than that, my e-mail ended
:44:21. > :44:26.with a direct question. I said, is its truth that the Cardinal has
:44:26. > :44:31.broken his vow of celibacy? You could not get a more specific
:44:31. > :44:35.allegation of anything than that. For the Church to say they did not
:44:35. > :44:38.know what he was being accused of were simply not true. It is very
:44:38. > :44:46.disappointing that they took that line.
:44:46. > :44:50.Now let us pick up on that point. I think we're talking here not
:44:50. > :44:55.about the Church but about the media operation of the church. The
:44:55. > :45:00.Catholic Media Office often speaks out very quickly and often without
:45:00. > :45:06.a degree of cautious restraint. But it has been virtually silent on
:45:06. > :45:13.this issue. There has been an almost media hire a toss.
:45:13. > :45:19.We have tried to contact the Catholic Media Office today. Where
:45:19. > :45:25.does this leave the moral authority of the Catholic Church in Scotland?
:45:25. > :45:30.Before the ordinary Catholic in the pew, this has been devastating and
:45:30. > :45:35.a shop but in the long run what is important to people is that actual
:45:35. > :45:39.fate. The number of mass attenders will not go down because of this
:45:39. > :45:43.but the public reputation of the Church has been affected. This is
:45:43. > :45:47.why the process has to happen speedily and effectively so that
:45:47. > :45:56.eventually it will come into the public and the main exactly what
:45:56. > :46:01.has happened. -- the public domain. The Church has got to be seen to be
:46:01. > :46:08.doing this effectively and thoroughly and not in any way
:46:08. > :46:12.obfuscating. Or, as has been stated by Catherine, misleading the media.
:46:12. > :46:17.This has been the biggest crisis for the Catholic Church since the
:46:17. > :46:22.Reformation? So as the prominent Catholics on
:46:22. > :46:26.Newsnight rejected this view. The Catholic Church has been through
:46:26. > :46:30.major tribulations since the Reformation in Scotland but this
:46:30. > :46:35.has been an internal scandal. This has happened because of
:46:35. > :46:39.developments within the church, or lead to difficulties within the
:46:39. > :46:43.Church. All the other things that happens to the Roman Catholic faith
:46:43. > :46:49.since the Reformation have been because of external forces. This is
:46:49. > :46:54.why this problem has gone global. Every major newspaper in the world
:46:54. > :46:58.has a story on this. It has put Scotland on the front pages of the
:46:58. > :47:04.world's media. Katharine, Scotland at the
:47:04. > :47:08.forefront of this debacle. The Catholic Church has emerged from
:47:08. > :47:12.the sidelines recently and become quite active politically, taking
:47:12. > :47:18.part in discussions on equal marriage and so on. One may still
:47:18. > :47:23.be able to do that now? A lot of rehabilitation has to go
:47:23. > :47:27.on for the Catholic Church. If you have a voice in society you have to
:47:27. > :47:32.earn that voice and have moral authority. The church is excellent
:47:32. > :47:38.where it speaks out on matters of justice and peace and for the poor
:47:38. > :47:42.and oppressed but unfortunately the territory the Church has chosen to
:47:42. > :47:47.inhabit publicly are all matters of sexual morality and we have seen
:47:47. > :47:51.that it is in sexual morality that the Church should not be speaking
:47:51. > :47:55.publicly. I would like to see them have more humility and less
:47:55. > :48:00.arrogance in the way that they try other people -- the way they tell
:48:00. > :48:05.other people to live their lives while choosing to live in a
:48:05. > :48:09.different way privately themselves. That is the issue here. No one
:48:09. > :48:13.enjoys seeing a man brought down so publicly as the cardinal but this
:48:13. > :48:19.was not about personal weakness but hypocrisy.
:48:19. > :48:24.Tom, has the Church been wrong to focus so much on sexual morality as
:48:24. > :48:28.opposed to poverty? I would generally agree with that.
:48:28. > :48:35.The Church has rules and there are certain things it does not allow.
:48:35. > :48:41.My concern on the sexual morality issue is that the Church teaches to
:48:41. > :48:46.love the sinner but to reject the sin. Now, that has not been clear
:48:46. > :48:49.in some of these pronouncements. The other dimension which is
:48:49. > :48:54.important is that the Church, historically, has been an enormous
:48:54. > :48:58.force for human good but none of this is coming out. In other words,
:48:58. > :49:02.a horrible caricature or Catholicism has emerged in the
:49:02. > :49:07.media over the last two or three weeks and that is why a again the
:49:07. > :49:12.message coming from the Church in Scotland should from now on be
:49:12. > :49:16.positive, faith driven and should not immediately jump into the
:49:16. > :49:21.public domain. Journalists love the Catholic Church because they
:49:21. > :49:25.immediately get an opinion from them. There should be much more
:49:25. > :49:31.consideration and the statements made should be nuanced and more, of
:49:32. > :49:37.blacks and they have been in the past. -- more complex.
:49:37. > :49:42.Katharine, we have the election of the new Pope in the next 10 days or
:49:43. > :49:48.so. It is almost incredible that the O'Brien revelations have come
:49:48. > :49:53.at this time. The story has been overtaken by
:49:53. > :50:00.events. The men at complains because it -- before the Pope
:50:00. > :50:03.announced his resignation. I think Tom is correct that there should be
:50:03. > :50:09.a more positive view of the Church alongside this but there will be a
:50:09. > :50:14.more positive view when the Church start behaving in a more positive
:50:14. > :50:19.way. The cover ups the Church have been involved in in the pass, every
:50:19. > :50:23.time they do that, they tell the people involved that they do not
:50:23. > :50:29.matter as much as the public face of the institution. They have to
:50:29. > :50:32.start protecting the people. We are still awaiting a statement
:50:32. > :50:36.from Cardinal Keith O'Brien on the allegations. Thank you both for a
:50:36. > :50:38.much for joining me. The under-occupancy charge, or so-
:50:38. > :50:41.called bedroom tax, will start next month. Government estimates this
:50:41. > :50:43.week suggest over 100,000 households in Scotland will lose
:50:43. > :50:46.out. It is a politically charged issue with many case studies
:50:46. > :50:56.affecting vulnerable people. Laura Bicker has been looking at the
:50:56. > :51:05.
:51:05. > :51:10.He is telling them about changes to their benefits, which will take
:51:10. > :51:18.effect next month. Are there any specific things that you have seen
:51:19. > :51:27.that are of concern to you? This bedroom tax, it is a nightmare. I
:51:27. > :51:36.have got two at extra rooms. With my husband having Alzheimer's, I
:51:36. > :51:42.need at my daughter to come, three or four days a week, to give me a
:51:42. > :51:48.break. My proposed course of action will be to fill in an exemption
:51:48. > :51:53.form, because you need separate rooms. She could have her housing
:51:53. > :51:58.benefit cut by a quarter and less she gets an exemption. Craig knows
:51:58. > :52:03.dozens of tenants just like her. But informing those in need is just
:52:03. > :52:08.part of this battle. The Scottish government has branded the so-
:52:08. > :52:15.called bedroomed tax unfair. But could it and should it be doing it
:52:15. > :52:19.more? It is disappointed and that they have not raised this with the
:52:19. > :52:24.UK Government in any detail. They need to do that urgently. Shelter
:52:24. > :52:30.has decided upon a three-point plan to take to Holyrood. Nobody should
:52:30. > :52:36.be made homeless because of this, anybody who ends up losing their
:52:36. > :52:43.home will be treated as being unintentionally homeless, and that
:52:43. > :52:47.a fund is put in place to protect social landlords from bankruptcy.
:52:47. > :52:51.Elsewhere, in Edinburgh, one councillor has put forward a plan
:52:51. > :52:56.to prevent those who get into debt being thrown out of their homes.
:52:56. > :53:00.You have to pay the whole rent, including the bedroom tax element.
:53:00. > :53:05.If you are struggling with that element, we will not affect you and
:53:05. > :53:09.make you homeless. The council will pick up the tab for homelessness,
:53:10. > :53:13.bed and breakfast accommodation, it does not make sense. Others would
:53:13. > :53:18.like the Scottish government to put more money into a discretionary
:53:19. > :53:23.fund to help those in larger houses who cannot move. We are concerned
:53:23. > :53:28.about people looking to downsize, and we do not have the properties
:53:28. > :53:32.to give them up. That gives a concern, because people will be
:53:32. > :53:36.stuck in a house with too many rooms, and it will not be their
:53:36. > :53:45.fault, and they will be penalised. We need assistance from the
:53:45. > :53:51.Scottish government. We are not getting enough. In some areas of
:53:51. > :53:56.England, councils have reclassified some homes, putting it in their
:53:56. > :54:00.books as a one-bedroom as an office. We should be looking at every
:54:00. > :54:05.option, and whether that means the classifying what a bedroom is, for
:54:05. > :54:10.the purposes of this process, or looking at other options, to
:54:10. > :54:16.getting housing associations to work together, to Port their
:54:16. > :54:21.waiting lists. All of these are just ideas for now, and the clock
:54:21. > :54:26.is ticking. Craig knows his part, and he intends to speak to every
:54:26. > :54:31.one of his tenants, in letting them know about the changes on the way.
:54:31. > :54:37.With me to discuss this, the Scottish government minister for
:54:37. > :54:46.housing and welfare, Margaret Burgess, and the Conservative MP
:54:46. > :54:51.for Penrith and the border, Rory Stewart. There is age huge
:54:51. > :54:56.controversy about this bedroom tax, but it is coming in in four weeks.
:54:56. > :55:02.How will we deal with it? How will the UK government help the
:55:02. > :55:06.vulnerable people? You had an excellent report there. It has been
:55:06. > :55:11.on the box for two years. People have been preparing. There are
:55:11. > :55:15.different ways of dealing with different situations, you can get
:55:15. > :55:19.exemptions, there is transition funding, councils that have houses
:55:19. > :55:24.where some of the bedrooms are too small are reclassified. Everybody
:55:24. > :55:30.agrees that we need to make the transition, but we need to make it
:55:30. > :55:35.as fair and just and flexible as possible. On the face of it, this
:55:35. > :55:40.looks like an unfair penalty for people, and things like funds being
:55:40. > :55:44.put in place to help people out, they are not sufficient for the
:55:44. > :55:49.long term. There has got to be a transition, because we are dealing
:55:49. > :55:54.with a situation where housing benefit has gone from 11 billion to
:55:54. > :55:58.�20 billion. We are in a financial hole. Something has to be done over
:55:58. > :56:04.the medium term to get it under control. We have been working hard
:56:04. > :56:08.to get the measures in place. It is tough, nobody likes this kind of
:56:08. > :56:16.cutting up, but there are many people struggle end, and the
:56:16. > :56:19.transitional arrangements are a help towards that. We have a Tory
:56:19. > :56:26.councillor complained that he does not have enough money to sort it
:56:26. > :56:31.out in Aberdeenshire. It is very tough. Many people in the private
:56:31. > :56:36.rented sector are struggling to have enough room, we have people in
:56:36. > :56:40.social housing who have two spare bedrooms, and we need to get our
:56:40. > :56:46.housing stock more rationalised, and print the expenditure under
:56:46. > :56:52.control. It is very tough. How can the Scottish government help
:56:52. > :56:56.mitigate against the effects of this? The first thing, the Scottish
:56:56. > :57:02.government do not agree with this penalty, and we are still trying to
:57:02. > :57:07.get the UK government to abandon it. It is unfair, it is not workable,
:57:07. > :57:13.and the impact it will have in Scotland is governed to be far
:57:13. > :57:18.outweighing any benefit there would be. The Scottish government has
:57:18. > :57:21.already done and a number of things to mitigate welfare reform, and in
:57:21. > :57:27.particular the bedroom tax, we are looking at all of the options that
:57:27. > :57:31.have been discussed by the previous people, we are looking at all of
:57:31. > :57:36.those things, we have already talked up the Scottish Welfare Fund
:57:36. > :57:42.to help those poorest in the society, we have given money to
:57:42. > :57:45.advice agencies to assist people who are struggling, and we have
:57:45. > :57:50.also given money to housing associations, to look at how they
:57:50. > :57:55.can address the problems they are going to face. What is the point of
:57:55. > :58:04.looking at it when it is coming in? There is a petition to make sure
:58:04. > :58:07.that people who are not pay and will not be evicted. It is UK
:58:07. > :58:11.legislation, not legislation from Scotland. We are looking at what
:58:11. > :58:15.has been said, but there are difficulties in terms of the
:58:15. > :58:21.petition, we have to address that when it comes forward. There are
:58:21. > :58:26.loads of other issues, about how you can identify a why somebody has
:58:27. > :58:31.rent arrears. Is it because of this, or are there other reasons? Are
:58:31. > :58:35.there other groups of people that we should exempt from eviction
:58:35. > :58:42.because of other circumstances, unemployment, loss of income? We
:58:42. > :58:46.will the cap every landlord, every housing association, and I do not
:58:46. > :58:52.think there is an appetite to evict people because of this. You are
:58:52. > :58:56.complaining that, but when did you speak to the UK government? I wrote
:58:56. > :59:01.to Iain Duncan Smith last week, and I wrote two weeks ago to Lord Freud,
:59:01. > :59:05.I have spoken to the Housing Minister in December, the Deputy
:59:05. > :59:09.First Minister has raised it in every meeting she has had with UK
:59:09. > :59:13.politicians, and I hope to raise it again next week in London. There
:59:13. > :59:16.seems to be a lot of meetings covering on, the Scottish
:59:16. > :59:24.government putting their case to do, but not enough money, and north of
:59:24. > :59:30.the border. This is not a policy about either side of the border, it
:59:30. > :59:35.is a British policy. We are failing to see a serious strategy from the
:59:35. > :59:39.SNP on how to deal with a massive financial problem. We are spending
:59:39. > :59:45.�20 billion a year on housing benefit, nearly twice the figure 10
:59:45. > :59:48.years ago, more than we spend on all of the university's and
:59:48. > :59:53.policing in the whole country combined. We need to be serious
:59:53. > :59:57.about the long-term public finances. It makes a lot of sense to discuss
:59:57. > :00:02.transition, to ask for flexibility, but what does not make sense is to
:00:02. > :00:08.hear the SNP fighting against every attempt to get the public finances
:00:08. > :00:16.under control. How can the fight against it when you here that this
:00:16. > :00:21.has doubled over the past 10 years, housing benefit has doubled? Will
:00:21. > :00:26.this be abolished in an independent Scotland? It has not doubled in
:00:26. > :00:31.Scotland over the last 10 years, the increase has been 14%. We do
:00:31. > :00:34.not have the same problems as we do in the rest of the UK. In an
:00:34. > :00:38.independent Scotland, we would reverse it, because it costs more
:00:38. > :00:44.to have it going and it has to do away with it. You do not have the
:00:44. > :00:50.money, though. We spend less of our GDP on social protection than they
:00:50. > :01:00.do in the rest of the UK, 15%, they spend 16%. We will have the money
:01:00. > :01:04.
:01:04. > :01:09.You are watching Sunday Politics Scotland. We are coming up to the
:01:09. > :01:12.news. After that, we will speak to Douglas Alexander about his idea
:01:13. > :01:17.for a national convention, getting his thoughts on the strategies at
:01:17. > :01:20.play on the referendum debate. The latest national and
:01:20. > :01:25.international news. See you in a moment.
:01:25. > :01:31.Good afternoon. Further assistance for the Syrian rebels will be
:01:31. > :01:35.announced in Parliament this week. Speaking to the BBC, William Hague
:01:35. > :01:42.dismissed the criticism of British policy. He described President
:01:42. > :01:49.Assad's remarks aspirational. The shelling and shooting continues
:01:49. > :01:56.in Syria. Tearing apart a state in which 70,000 have died since the
:01:56. > :02:00.uprising began almost two years ago. But the President has accused the
:02:00. > :02:06.British government of trying to militarised the conflict in his
:02:06. > :02:10.remarks to the Sunday Times today. This government is acting in a
:02:10. > :02:15.naive, confused and unrealistic manner. William Hague described the
:02:15. > :02:20.interview as pollution off. This is a man presiding over this slaughter,
:02:20. > :02:24.and the message to him is that we are the people sending food and
:02:24. > :02:28.shelter and blankets to help people driven from their homes and
:02:28. > :02:32.families in his name. We are sending medical supplies to try to
:02:32. > :02:39.look after people injured and abused by the soldiers working for
:02:39. > :02:44.this man. William Hague said that, faced with the extreme humanitarian
:02:44. > :02:48.distress of the civilians, Britain could not just sit it out. Though
:02:48. > :02:53.Almond the rebels push back rebels is not yet British policy, he would
:02:53. > :02:56.not rule that out in future. The Prime Minister is insisting
:02:56. > :03:00.there will be no pledge to the right by the Conservatives
:03:00. > :03:03.following their defeat in bit Eastleigh by-election. Writing in
:03:03. > :03:12.the Sunday Telegraph, he said he would stick to the course that the
:03:12. > :03:15.government is on. Following two days of negative
:03:15. > :03:19.headlines after the Conservatives'' bruising defeat, David Cameron has
:03:20. > :03:23.chosen to fight back. He says the battle for Britain will not be won
:03:23. > :03:28.by lurching to the right wing it, but by appealing to the common
:03:28. > :03:37.ground. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, he pledges to do
:03:37. > :03:41.that by controlling immigration... That the leader of UKIP, which came
:03:41. > :03:45.second, forcing the Conservatives into third place, says they should
:03:45. > :03:51.be focusing on addressing concerns now, not making pledges for beyond
:03:51. > :03:56.the next election. Jam tomorrow, that is what we keep hearing from
:03:56. > :04:01.them, promises of what they might do if they win the next general a
:04:01. > :04:05.election. Meanwhile, the Justice Secretary has said he would expect
:04:05. > :04:08.a future Conservative government to scrap the Human Rights Act. His
:04:08. > :04:13.remarks and those of the Prime Minister will be seen as an attempt
:04:13. > :04:19.to appease some on the backbenches who crave what they see as a more
:04:19. > :04:29.muscular Conservative is that while broadening their appeal with voters.
:04:29. > :04:29.
:04:29. > :04:33.That is the news for now, there will be more and BBC One at 6:35pm.
:04:33. > :04:37.Good afternoon. A former priest who made claims
:04:37. > :04:41.against Cardinal O'Brien has told the Observer newspaper he would
:04:41. > :04:46.public despite being warned he could damage the Church's
:04:46. > :04:49.reputation. He is one of four men who have accused the Cardinal of
:04:49. > :04:55.inappropriate behaviour in the 1980s Dannatt allegations he
:04:55. > :04:58.contests. The Cardinal was signed last week. The journalist two broke
:04:58. > :05:08.the story told us the Catholic Church was aware of what he was
:05:08. > :05:16.
:05:16. > :05:22.accused of because she had e-mailed And up I asked them if it was true
:05:22. > :05:26.that the cardinal had broken his foul of celibacy. For them to claim
:05:27. > :05:30.that they did not know what he was accused of simply is not true. It
:05:30. > :05:33.is very disappointing that they took that line.
:05:33. > :05:35.Limiting the amount of water available for use by whisky
:05:35. > :05:38.distilleries could harm long-term plans, according to industry
:05:38. > :05:40.representatives. The limit, which has been agreed in legislation
:05:40. > :05:43.passed at the Scottish Parliament, prevents firms from taking more
:05:43. > :05:46.than ten million litres of water each day. The Scotch Whisky
:05:46. > :05:48.Association said not being exempt could limit its expansion.
:05:48. > :05:54.In football there are two Scottish Cup ties later, including
:05:54. > :05:56.Kilmarnock against Hibernian live on BBC 1 Scotland from 2:40pm.
:05:56. > :05:59.Yesterday, Celtic beat St Mirren in their quarter-final, Anthony Stokes
:05:59. > :06:01.heading the winner, while Falkirk are also through to the semi-finals
:06:01. > :06:11.after overcoming Hamilton. Here is the weather now with Judith
:06:11. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:34.The a outlook is brightness morning. There will be some cloud in the
:06:34. > :06:39.north Highlands and drizzle. Temperatures 10 or 11 degrees
:06:39. > :06:43.Celsius which is good for the time of year. It will stay dry for most
:06:43. > :06:53.of us overnight with clear spells in the south.
:06:53. > :06:55.
:06:55. > :06:58.Thanks, Alastair. Now, in a speech a couple of days ago, the shadow
:06:58. > :07:02.foreign secretary Douglas Alexander tried to reclaim the idea of change
:07:02. > :07:04.and attach its significance to a no vote. He also floated the idea of a
:07:04. > :07:14.national convention post-2014 to focus on the type of society
:07:14. > :07:16.
:07:16. > :07:22.Scotland could become if it remains It is almost three decades since
:07:22. > :07:27.voters first went to the polls to decide on the future of Scotland.
:07:27. > :07:32.It took another 20 years before Scotland achieved a parliament.
:07:32. > :07:36.This time around, Douglas Alexander wants to quash any notion that a No
:07:36. > :07:42.vote means nothing will change. He was to create space for what he
:07:42. > :07:48.calls a new kind of politics, by gathering politicians and Civic
:07:48. > :07:52.Society to discuss future priorities. It is based loosely on
:07:52. > :07:57.the constitutional Convention which developed plans for the parliament
:07:57. > :08:01.at Holyrood. He asks whether we could gather together a national
:08:01. > :08:06.convention, to chart a new vision from old nation for the next
:08:06. > :08:10.decade? Gathering 25 years on from the conclusion of the
:08:10. > :08:15.constitutional Convention, this national convention will look
:08:15. > :08:19.beyond an agenda of constitutional change. His call comes ahead of
:08:19. > :08:24.Labour's devolution commission reporting its findings later this
:08:24. > :08:29.month. It was founded last year to can't sit there the balance of
:08:29. > :08:32.power between Westminster and Holyrood. -- consider.
:08:32. > :08:41.And the Labour strategist and MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South,
:08:41. > :08:48.Douglas Alexander, joins me now. Your suggestion there for a ten-
:08:48. > :08:52.year long national convention, is it a big talking shop?
:08:52. > :08:56.One had the paradoxical truth about Scotland at the moment is that
:08:56. > :09:02.Scotland wants change but it does not want the change that the SNP is
:09:02. > :09:08.offering, a separate sovereign state. We need to look belongs 2014
:09:08. > :09:12.where I believe Scots will reject the choice of a separate sovereign
:09:12. > :09:17.state and stay in the United Kingdom. They may need to say, what
:09:18. > :09:22.has changed look like in terms of our economy and society. So much of
:09:22. > :09:26.the conversation about the nation we could become has been crowded
:09:26. > :09:31.out by an almost exclusive conversation about constitutional
:09:31. > :09:37.change. A is this enough that people? Won a
:09:37. > :09:43.nationalist said that you were offering shiny beads to the natives
:09:43. > :09:49.then a serious debate. I am trying to get away from be he
:09:49. > :09:52.said she said politics which all too often characterises this debate.
:09:52. > :09:56.Surely any king comes together after the vote and have a
:09:56. > :10:02.conversation about the fact there are more than 200,000 people out of
:10:02. > :10:09.work in Scotland. How do we improve the quality of Ireland and rural
:10:09. > :10:14.communities in Scotland? There are hail whole range of issues. I think
:10:14. > :10:18.he could establish a different kind of dialogue, having resolved to the
:10:18. > :10:22.constitutional issue. We could a look ahead to a richer and deeper
:10:22. > :10:26.conversation about what kind of nation we want to be and what kind
:10:26. > :10:32.of Scots we want to be. The devolution Commission are
:10:32. > :10:38.looking at this. Do you think what you are offering is enough? Well
:10:38. > :10:44.the devolution Commission put any more meat on the bones?
:10:44. > :10:48.Scottish Labour off the devolution. We have argued for decades for a
:10:48. > :10:54.Scottish Parliament. After the SNP won the their historic victory, I
:10:54. > :11:00.said we should be open minded about improving the devolution settlement.
:11:00. > :11:06.No people said this was a tactical response. It was a considered
:11:06. > :11:11.judgment. We need to look at how to improve the constitutional
:11:11. > :11:17.settlement. That is a different destination to what the SNP are
:11:17. > :11:22.offering. The that speech was a considered judgement and quite a
:11:22. > :11:27.critical judgment, you said Labour were not reconnecting and were in
:11:27. > :11:31.opposition for its own sake. I Labour delivering now, 18 months
:11:31. > :11:38.ahead of the referendum? Were the are making real progress.
:11:38. > :11:42.A couple of years later -- a couple of months later we elected a new
:11:42. > :11:47.leader. The SNP have been under some pressure that they have not
:11:47. > :11:50.been under for some time. Our job is not just a critique of the
:11:50. > :11:56.Scottish National Party but to create a vision of the kind of
:11:56. > :12:01.nation we want to lead. There is a big agenda here that has been
:12:01. > :12:06.crowded out the Scottish Labour needs to give voice to.
:12:06. > :12:10.How can you claim new art reconnected when you are coming 4th
:12:10. > :12:17.in by-elections? Scottish Labour did not take part
:12:17. > :12:21.in the by-election this week. We have had some long -- some strong
:12:21. > :12:27.local government results in by- elections. We are working hard to
:12:27. > :12:33.come back. In terms of the vote last week, that it is not exactly a
:12:33. > :12:41.Labour heartland. We were not in a position to contest what was are
:12:41. > :12:48.too much and 57th target seats. We would have had so to win a match
:12:48. > :12:52.seat if we wanted to get a majority well in excess of 300! And many of
:12:52. > :12:57.us did not expect us to have John O'Farrell as a parliamentary
:12:57. > :13:01.colleague this week. Why we all Labour colleagues in
:13:01. > :13:06.skull and not coming up with his philosophical concepts like this? I
:13:06. > :13:12.you the thinking man of Scottish Labour who has to come up from
:13:12. > :13:20.London to make these statements? Are we are one party. We are led by
:13:20. > :13:25.Johann Lamont. On others have a role to play. Robin Cook was a
:13:25. > :13:30.great influence on the. Renewal of the party is a job for all of this
:13:30. > :13:33.is something he used to say. We all need to come together, whether
:13:33. > :13:40.representing constituents in a local council, Holyrood of
:13:40. > :13:46.Westminster. We all have a job to Would you echoed the statements
:13:46. > :13:50.Johann Lamont has been making about the something for nothing culture?
:13:50. > :13:55.I fear we had an echo of that conversation in the last debate you
:13:55. > :14:00.had, where the Scottish Parliament was supposed to ensure the politics
:14:00. > :14:06.of responsibility. With hindsight, they could have been changes to the
:14:06. > :14:11.tax powers at an earlier stage. Those are coming in the future.
:14:11. > :14:16.There is a particularly depressing -- depressing strain to nationalist
:14:16. > :14:20.thinking, saying Westminster is to blame for everything. On something
:14:20. > :14:24.like the bedroom tax there are practical steps the Scottish
:14:24. > :14:27.Parliament could take but it should not be seen as a campaigning
:14:27. > :14:32.opportunity by the Scottish government but to get down to work
:14:32. > :14:39.and see what practical changes can be made here.
:14:39. > :14:42.We are also looking at the Human Rights Bill today. Chris Grayling
:14:42. > :14:49.has claimed that a Scottish government would scrap the Human
:14:49. > :14:52.Rights Act. Vince Cable said this was speculation. What would be your
:14:52. > :14:57.reaction to that? Burst of for a future Tory
:14:57. > :15:02.government is not the plan. David Cameron said it would be wrong
:15:02. > :15:08.after that by-election to lurch to the right. But at the same time
:15:08. > :15:12.Chris Grayling was briefing another newspaper about getting rid of the
:15:12. > :15:17.Human Rights Act. The Conservatives are letting the country down and
:15:17. > :15:24.stagnating. That is why they are doing badly in the opinion polls,
:15:24. > :15:27.not what it is at the Sisi in Europe.
:15:27. > :15:33.The nationalists say we're very different in Scotland and have very
:15:33. > :15:36.different opinions on things like that proposal. You do not go along
:15:36. > :15:42.with that. You say we are all brothers and sisters together
:15:42. > :15:50.across the UK. I do not think it is an altar
:15:50. > :15:58.stereotypes -- and old stereotype. To suggest that everyone south of
:15:58. > :16:02.the border is right wing is unfair. We have a huge responsibility to
:16:03. > :16:07.deliver to the Scottish Parliament the kind of changes we want to see.
:16:07. > :16:11.Not just a more united and equal Scotland but a more enterprising
:16:11. > :16:16.Scotland as well. That is what I hope the national convention will
:16:16. > :16:18.look at. Thank you for coming to speak to us.
:16:18. > :16:20.Well, the Spring party political conference season is fast
:16:20. > :16:23.approaching and that is usually where significant policy
:16:23. > :16:26.announcements are trumpeted. And with politicians and the electorate
:16:26. > :16:30.calling for the debate to get past the process and on to the substance,
:16:30. > :16:37.we decided to take a look at what a no vote in 2014 would mean.
:16:37. > :16:41.Christine Macleod has been trying to find out.
:16:41. > :16:46.On one of the Prime Minister's visit to Scotland last year, he
:16:46. > :16:50.hinted he may be open to allowing Scotland more powers if Scots
:16:50. > :16:57.rejected independence. But are we any clearer on what Scotland would
:16:58. > :17:02.look like after a no vote. Scotland's -- Scottish Labour at
:17:02. > :17:06.talking about a national convention to plan the future. They will also
:17:06. > :17:09.reveal the findings of bed devolution Commission at their
:17:09. > :17:15.April conference. We are looking at where power
:17:15. > :17:20.should lie. It is about local government as well. We want to look
:17:20. > :17:23.at the best place for up power to set. It is about where it is most
:17:23. > :17:27.appropriately used and put into place and what they can deliver for
:17:28. > :17:31.people in Scotland. The Scottish Conservative leader
:17:31. > :17:37.once said she would draw a line in the sand when it came to more
:17:37. > :17:42.powers for Scotland but recently she has suggested looking at more
:17:42. > :17:46.powers after 2014. Her party will also be setting out its
:17:46. > :17:51.constitutional stall for the 2014 general election ahead of the
:17:51. > :17:57.referendum vote. We will bring in a concrete
:17:57. > :18:01.proposals ahead of the referendum in the terms of what we expect
:18:01. > :18:04.after the referendum. People in Scotland do want to see more
:18:04. > :18:09.responsibility taken in Holyrood for the decisions that are made
:18:09. > :18:13.here. That is something we have to reflect on.
:18:13. > :18:19.Liberal Democrats support Marholm role. They would like all the
:18:19. > :18:28.parties to come together and agreed to which powers they should have
:18:29. > :18:33.their in the event as a No vote. -- more home rule.
:18:33. > :18:37.It is important that when the voters go to the polls they
:18:37. > :18:43.understand that all the political parties in Scotland want more
:18:43. > :18:48.powers for Scotland. They expect the SNP, hopefully after they
:18:48. > :18:53.defeated in the referendum, to join that consensus.
:18:53. > :18:58.Once the SNP back such a plan if it lost the referendum?
:18:58. > :19:04.The SNP has always campaigned for more powers and will always do that
:19:04. > :19:07.until we are independent. The other parties must say what more powers
:19:07. > :19:12.they want the Scottish Parliament to have and how they can guarantee
:19:12. > :19:18.that those powers will be delivered by a Westminster government because
:19:18. > :19:25.past experience says that unless the SNP and the campaign for
:19:25. > :19:27.independence are providing a momentum, they do not deliver.
:19:27. > :19:32.Pressure is on the Unionist parties to come up with their own
:19:32. > :19:38.manifestos setting out their plans for Scotland's constitution. Should
:19:38. > :19:43.they include for more powers for Scotland?
:19:43. > :19:48.I do not think they need to panic at all. They do not need suit broke
:19:48. > :19:54.promises of more powers at the voters. Two-thirds of voters are
:19:54. > :19:59.quite happy. The essential question, yes or No to the union, that is the
:19:59. > :20:03.one we need to settle in the referendum. Nothing else.
:20:03. > :20:10.While there may at the moment be a majority in Scotland for remaining
:20:10. > :20:19.in the union, there is also clearly a majority in favour of devolution.
:20:19. > :20:23.-- of more devolution. There is an attempt to cement the loyalty of
:20:23. > :20:30.existing voters by giving a clear indication of what Scotland might
:20:30. > :20:35.be given in the way of more devolution in the wake of a No vote.
:20:35. > :20:39.So, to introduce more powers on not to introduce more powers? The real
:20:39. > :20:44.question is, what is the best strategy for Unionist parties if
:20:44. > :20:46.they are to win a no votes? With me in the the studio is the
:20:46. > :20:54.former Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP and leader of the Devo Plus
:20:54. > :20:59.group Jeremy Purvis. You are celebrating the first
:20:59. > :21:05.birthday of Devo Plus. You showed that this flowcharts this week
:21:05. > :21:11.which seems to appear with everyone moving into the middle ground. The
:21:12. > :21:15.SNP even appear to be looking from been delighted Devo Max.
:21:15. > :21:20.Before these proposals were launched last year there was
:21:20. > :21:23.uncertainty about whether or not the parties would move. Labour have
:21:23. > :21:30.established their commission and the latest speech by Ruth Davidson
:21:30. > :21:35.is very positive. They have shown movements but, one year on from the
:21:35. > :21:42.launch, we want to offer a challenge to the parties. We
:21:42. > :21:45.believe most people in Scotland's accept that the parties enable
:21:45. > :21:50.women to come together. We want to understand what will happen in the
:21:50. > :21:53.event of a No vote. We are suggesting a form of agreement, and
:21:53. > :21:59.equivalent to the Edinburgh agreement signed between the two
:21:59. > :22:03.governments to show that the two party leaders can show a unified
:22:03. > :22:07.proposition of what would happen in the event of a No vote.
:22:07. > :22:13.So that would be a funny unified opposition from the three main
:22:13. > :22:18.opposition parties? Is that not overly optimistic?
:22:18. > :22:22.The proposals have shown we can take forward powers. It can be done
:22:22. > :22:27.in a stable, proper way that can strengthen the parliament and also
:22:27. > :22:32.mean that we still gain from the United Kingdom. There is a
:22:32. > :22:35.consensus growing there. A Glasgow agreement which showed that a
:22:35. > :22:39.statement of intent by the parties would be addressing what many in
:22:39. > :22:44.Scotland are wanting to know, addressing what will happen in the
:22:44. > :22:47.event of a No vote and outlining the leadership from the parties to
:22:47. > :22:52.show that. We did it with the establishment of the parliament in
:22:52. > :22:59.the first place, we did it with the Calman Commission, said there is a
:22:59. > :23:03.clear precedent. Isn't the strongest way forward,
:23:03. > :23:08.are perhaps better, if we have three different ideologies coming
:23:08. > :23:18.forward? Perhaps if you have won this shed strategy it is less of a
:23:18. > :23:20.
:23:20. > :23:23.moving target for the SNP -- one shed strategy?
:23:23. > :23:30.There was a convention between Labour and Liberal Democrats when
:23:30. > :23:35.we had the Edinburgh agreement. The Calman Commission are clarified the
:23:35. > :23:41.powers. It is up to the parties to use those powers and argue for the
:23:41. > :23:44.policies in the context of more accountability. We cannot conflicts
:23:44. > :23:50.what party policies are but people are hungry to know what the
:23:50. > :23:55.consequences of a No vote would be. We need a Glasgow agreements, a
:23:55. > :24:01.Statesman's intense -- a statement of intent of what would happen. The
:24:01. > :24:08.parliament is permanent, here to stay. That starts to give up a
:24:08. > :24:10.common ground that could be cut out. It does not stop Labour, the
:24:10. > :24:14.Liberal Democrats or the Conservatives from saying what
:24:14. > :24:19.their party policies are. Many people are hungry for clarity on
:24:19. > :24:23.the constitution. If there is in no fate any do not
:24:23. > :24:28.get this agreement, with these three disparate groups, I your
:24:28. > :24:31.concerns that further powers for Scotland might fall down of the
:24:32. > :24:39.Westminster agenda after the referendum?
:24:39. > :24:44.Also Melly, what we hope is to have a natural destination to this
:24:44. > :24:48.debate. We do not want to be perpetually talking about the
:24:48. > :24:53.constitution. We wanted to be clear in a referendum that there will be
:24:53. > :24:57.a yes proposition of what independence will look like and
:24:57. > :25:04.also it will be clear what will be the consequence of the process of
:25:04. > :25:10.the week that took place -- the process of the work there will take
:25:10. > :25:14.place in the event of a No vote. Without that it is harder to find a
:25:14. > :25:17.destination to this debate on devolution and I fear Scotland will
:25:17. > :25:23.be hobbled by a perpetual debate on the constitution when there are
:25:23. > :25:26.other areas we need to focus on. Well, it has been a busy old week
:25:26. > :25:36.in the political arena. Let us take a look back in The Week In 60
:25:36. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:44.New proposals for regulatory bodies have been announced if Scotland
:25:44. > :25:49.becomes independent. The finance secretary says consumers will
:25:49. > :25:54.benefit by merging many regulators into one or two bodies. The Defence
:25:54. > :25:57.Secretary warned of further significant cuts to the armed
:25:57. > :26:04.forces harming military capability. He suggested savings should come
:26:04. > :26:11.from the welfare budget. A deal was struck to end the controversial
:26:11. > :26:15.practice of throwing discarded fish back into the sea. A third European
:26:15. > :26:20.foreign minister has said an independent Scotland would have to
:26:20. > :26:25.apply for EU membership. That fear's the minister said Scotland
:26:25. > :26:31.would be considered as a new country. And the Scottish Health
:26:31. > :26:34.Secretary had to leave an operating better after feeling fate while
:26:34. > :26:44.watching a kidney transplant operation in Edinburgh's Royal
:26:44. > :26:50.
:26:50. > :26:54.So that was the week that was. Let I am joined by the SNP blogger Kate
:26:54. > :27:01.Higgins, who writes under the name of BurdsEyeVoew. Alongside her,
:27:01. > :27:09.Labour cyber commentator, the lawyer Ian Smart.
:27:09. > :27:12.Let us look at the top stories this week. What are you make of the
:27:12. > :27:16.statement from the former priest who said he was scared to speak
:27:16. > :27:21.out? I think the whole thing is very
:27:21. > :27:26.difficult now. I do not have a huge interest in the sex life of
:27:26. > :27:32.Cardinal Keith O'Brien. To some of the detail that is coming out now
:27:32. > :27:36.seems to be moving into the realms of the prurience, shall we say? It
:27:36. > :27:41.is a terrible crisis for the Catholic Church but it will survive
:27:41. > :27:46.that crisis. Kate Higgins, we are discussing the
:27:46. > :27:56.moral authority of the church. They have been very involved in equal
:27:56. > :27:56.
:27:56. > :28:00.marriage to date. Where does this leave their moral authority?
:28:00. > :28:03.They will lose that authority if they continue to choose to focus
:28:03. > :28:09.their energies and attention on sexual morality issues. The
:28:09. > :28:14.Catholic Church has handled this pretty badly. Abuse scandals, if
:28:14. > :28:17.you like, and allegations can go one of two ways. We can try and to
:28:17. > :28:21.shut it down and put it back in the cupboards and hope it does not come
:28:22. > :28:27.out again or you can take an Open and as transparent approach and
:28:27. > :28:30.that is what the Church needs to do. It needs to acknowledge things may
:28:30. > :28:36.not have been right in the past and give the opportunity to other
:28:36. > :28:42.victims to come forward. Let us turn to the bedroom tax. An
:28:42. > :28:45.interesting comment from you this week, hitting out at all the main
:28:45. > :28:49.parties. Whenever the reasons we campaign
:28:49. > :28:54.for a Scottish Parliament was of that it would protect Scotland's in
:28:54. > :28:59.the eventuality of a Tory government in Westminster. They
:28:59. > :29:03.have the power to undermine this bedroom tax. We need money made
:29:03. > :29:09.available to the people who will lose their housing benefit. The
:29:09. > :29:15.Scottish Parliament could do that and are choosing not to. It is a
:29:15. > :29:20.cause of a lack of political well, not caused by a lack of power.
:29:20. > :29:28.What is your view on that? I Commons Road this morning to
:29:29. > :29:37.carry forward that argument. I agree it is a lack of political
:29:37. > :29:41.will -- political will. This should have been sorted out last year to
:29:41. > :29:47.get is pushed out of the Welfare Reform Bill. Councils in the last
:29:47. > :29:51.two months, led by Labour and the SNP, have increased rent by huge
:29:51. > :29:56.margins and pushed further hardship on to tenants when they had the
:29:56. > :30:03.opportunity to freeze rents and enable people to afford what will
:30:03. > :30:08.come down the line in bedroom tax. We actually just need the parties
:30:09. > :30:15.to use the powers they have ants to work creatively and unite on this.
:30:15. > :30:25.We cannot have this as a party political issue. It is to be as
:30:25. > :30:33.
:30:33. > :30:37.If you look at what Douglas Alexander said, he talks about
:30:37. > :30:43.powers for the Scottish Parliament, but he is also talking about what
:30:43. > :30:48.kind of Scotland we want. We seem to have gone through the whole
:30:48. > :30:54.period of devolution, first, the Labour administration wanted to do
:30:54. > :30:59.as little as possible different. Then, and SNP administration
:30:59. > :31:03.obsessed with, we want a fully independent Scotland. Nobody has
:31:03. > :31:08.said, these are the powers of the Scottish Parliament, these are the
:31:08. > :31:13.problems, these are how we applied these powers to these problems.
:31:13. > :31:23.Sunday Herald had alienation, Nicola Sturgeon speaking about how
:31:23. > :31:26.
:31:26. > :31:31.the UK government is changing how things are done south of the border.
:31:31. > :31:37.Douglas Alexander's speech was fantastic, with huge quotable
:31:37. > :31:41.chunks. I disagreed with three- quarters of it, but it was great.
:31:41. > :31:47.Two things of note, it sets out a blueprint for the Labour Party if
:31:47. > :31:50.they choose to follow, if they want to have a chance of winning at the
:31:50. > :31:56.2016 elections, but what is eliminating it is the non-committal
:31:56. > :32:01.approach and response from them to date. But there is a lot of
:32:01. > :32:06.presumption that Scotland will not move towards a yes vote in 2000 of
:32:06. > :32:11.14, and it is just for the Unionist parties to carp at the future and
:32:11. > :32:15.to start that process now. From his speech about the change in Scotland,
:32:15. > :32:23.what was remarkable to me was how similar he and Nicola Sturgeon
:32:23. > :32:28.sound. If we can find a way forward, there is hope. But I agree, it is
:32:28. > :32:33.reassuring to hear parties to the starting to think about how they
:32:33. > :32:39.want to create Scotland in the future.